The specs on the Tobias look good, though I dont know what Radiata is. Never heard of that type of wood. Glad to see Maple necks though. I'm intrigued by the Tonexpressor becuase the term dates back to the early days of Epiphone electric instruments, but to be honest, I dont really know exactly what it does. I'm guessing its some type of EQ shaping?

I take it that these are to replace the now discontinued Embassy basses? The thing that I dont like about the Tobias basses are they way they look. Too pointy. They look more like weapons than instruments. Its like the "swept-C" shape just keeps getting longer and narrower. From the EBM to the Embassy and now the Tobias, the horns keep getting more exaggerated. Too much exaggeration for me. I dont really dig the Dean-esque headstock either. But that is just my taste and purely subjective.

But like I said, the specs look very good. Something that Epiphone has been excelling at for quite some time now.

The specs on the Tobias look good, though I dont know what Radiata is. Never heard of that type of wood. Glad to see Maple necks though. I'm intrigued by the Tonexpressor becuase the term dates back to the early days of Epiphone electric instruments, but to be honest, I dont really know exactly what it does. I'm guessing its some type of EQ shaping?

I take it that these are to replace the now discontinued Embassy basses? The thing that I dont like about the Tobias basses are they way they look. Too pointy. They look more like weapons than instruments. Its like the "swept-C" shape just keeps getting longer and narrower. From the EBM to the Embassy and now the Tobias, the horns keep getting more exaggerated. Too much exaggeration for me. I dont really dig the Dean-esque headstock either. But that is just my taste and purely subjective.

But like I said, the specs look very good. Something that Epiphone has been excelling at for quite some time now.

Hi Rth,

The Toneexpressor boosts both treble and bass at the same time. The body shape is exact to the old USA model, pointy yes, but no more than before. Radiata is

an Asian species of the Pine family.

The natural durability of wood is influenced by its chemical composition. Radiata pine, with its low chemical levels has non-durable wood, but because the pores linking cells are relatively open, chemicals to increase durability quickly pass through the wood. The same features also mean that wood density is lower (i.e., the wood is lighter) - a real advantage for building/construction purposes. But its bending and strength properties are still good, equal to most other softwood species used for similar purposes.

Other features of radiata pine associated with its relatively uniform cell structure and even density are:

• good finish when cut and sanded
• easy to nail but still holds nails well
• paint and other coatings dry to a good finish
• little 'resin bleeding' once dried.

On behalf of the great Michael Tobias, please be aware that he has absolutely nothing to do with these things other than the fact that he designed the shape of the body waaay back when he and his California team made real basses. Other than the shape of the body and headstock, and his great name, these are NOTHING like the original Tobias basses.

I won't even TOUCH them at the store. They are cursed. There was one in a floor stand, directly in my way to picking up a beautiful Ibanez. I couldn't reach the Ibanez without moving the Tobias. Since I couldn't push it aside with my foot, I came back later once someone had removed it from the floor.

I'm not saying they're junk. But I'm not saying they're any good, either.

The guitarist detuned one of my strings and he won't tell me which one!